Resist BHA 9

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I use this on pimples that just will not go away, and to reduce the redness of big pimples. The only downside is the packaging- one pump dispenses enough the cover half my face, which is about four times as much as I ever need. A different dispenser would be wonderful.Be careful applying to thin skin.

OK... so I almost never write reviews but this product is amazing! I had never tried Paula's products before but the excellent reviews on the Resist BHA 9 Treatment caught my attention. As she offers a trial size for $5 dollars, I figured what do I have to lose. So glad I tried it! In addition to acne that I deal with daily, I have been developing small flesh coloured bumps that look kinda like pimples but are actually Sebaceous Hyperplasia (a common, benign condition of sebaceous glands in adults of middle age or older. Single or multiple bumps that manifest as yellowish, soft, small papules on the face (particularly nose, cheeks, and forehead). I have applied BHA 9 on my face for 2 nights now and I can already see the newer, smaller bumps diminishing which has never happened with any other product I have tried (and believe me I have tried many)! I just purchased the full size product today. If you suffer from the same condition, I urge you to purchase the trial sample to see for yourself.

After reading the reviews, I was cautiously optomistic that this could really benefit my cystic acne. Boy does it ever. I only bought a small sample and put it on my worst offenders-- the full, painful cystics, the ones oozing, red and raw-- at bedtime. The first morning I woke up and they are all flat, the redness was gone and they were all clearly in a healing stage.

Lucky to have happened upon this. If nothing else works for your acne, try this one thing. I ordered the sample and saw improvement on the first use. I am back to order a large size.

...well, what used to be called accutane (my Dermatologist was insistent, as I had tried everything else she had to offer with no relief; I declined). Granted, my severe, hormonal acne cleared up a lot after going vegan (I'm certain it's the hormones and growth factor in meat/dairy) but I would still get deep, painful cysts around my jawline occasionally. This BHA 9 has completely gotten rid of them and to top it off, my new and old sites of severe hyper pigmentation are almost gone, so much so that I have gone from having to wear full coverage foundation to only sunscreen with a dust of powder...never thought I would get here! Thank you so much Paula and staff, I can't help but tear up while writing this!

This product is amazing and has done wonders for my oily, acne and blackhead prone skin!! I put this on my face where I tend to have blackhead/acne problems and after a few months my skin was completely clear; and still is! This product took a few months to work, however it worked better than retin A and any of the other acne prescriptions I've used. Never stop making this product, it is a true lifesaver!!

I've been dealing with enlarged pores and blackheads and I just can't get rid of the blackheads. I'll extract a bunch of blackheads from my nose and the very next day it looks the exact same again. I decided to try this product IN ADDITION to the 2% BHA liquid exfoliant that I've been using. And honestly, I didn't see a difference. I tried applying it before the rest of my Paula's Choice products, and I tried applying it at the end of my skin care routine. And I just didn't see any difference at all. Not impressed.... In fact, I was pretty disappointed. From the description and the reviews, it sounded like my blackheads were going to completely disappear. But that definitely wasn't the case. Also have to agree with other reviews that complain about the packaging.

Bottom LineNo, I would not recommend this to a friend

Customer Service Response: Hi there! We're sorry this didn't work for you, but we would recommend contacting our Customer Care Team at custserv@paulaschoice.com so that they can assist with a refund or exchange.

I have rather dry, sensitive skin. I really like this product. It works wonders for my hormonal acne(doesn't make it disappear overnight, but cuts my healing time down by a good week or two). It also helped diminish my acne scarring on my chin. I've been through two bottles/vials and would definiately recommend at least picking up a sample.

The pump dispenser is pretty bad, and gets a point knocked off for an otherwise excellent product. This stuff is expensive and I treat it like liquid gold. Always heart breaking to press too hard and end up dispensing more than needed. I would recommend the packaging be changed to an eye dropper format, perhaps.

I have sensitive, combination skin, and I get cystic hormonal acne every month - thanks, Mother Nature! I use this as a spot treatment, and it clears up my cystic and regular acne faster than anything else ever has. I bought the tiny sample, and it lasted me two months because I use it as a spot treatment. I love it.

First of all I love the serum it works wonderfully on cystic acne and random little pimples. But the pump is awful! It pumps out way too much! All you need is a tiny dab. This pumps out enough for your entire face and then some. This is way too expensive to waste. New packaging please, but keep the serum the same I love it.

My prescription acne gel dries my skin too much but this won´t, reduces the size of pumps pretty effectively. My pimples are really stubborn so I haven´t managed to get rid off them completely. This is very expensive product, especially considering the size. I haven´t used it much on my back and chest, to save it for my face but still I´m done with it just over a month.

First of all, the applicator is not comfortable. I tried to push the button a little bit, but it always brings a lot of liquids...Unfortunately, I didn't see a value of the product.(the rest of the products are really good!)

I bought the sample and have been using it for a few nights. I'm using it as a spot treatment as it is recommended and it did really great. I applied some on little red bumps and overnight, the redness was almost completely gone and those bumps size was reduced by 50%! This product really worth a try.

I use this as a spot treatment after moisturizing at night. It definitely doesn't make blemishes disappear overnight (at least not for me), but it does help cut down the time a pimple stays around. Each night I place a tiny bit of this on a pimple and just watch it shrink. Depending on how stubborn the pimple is it takes about 2-4 days. Since I've been using this, I haven't had to pop a single pimple (nor has a pimple gotten so full that it popped on its own while doing my normal skin care routine) It's slowly making a small change in my hyperpigmentation. I've purchased a tester of the Vitamin C Spot Treatment to try to speed up the process, here's hoping. I started with the sample, which lasted for over 2 weeks (with daily use). That way you can decide if this is right for you. I now have the full size bottle.

This is my miracle in a bottle!! My favorite PC product. Every time I use this, the next morning my skin is smooth and clear. My pores shrink. The first time I used it the skin colored bumps that I had for years went away. I don't use it every night, it is in rotation with other PC products but it's the only one that I can see a dramatic difference the next morning. I don't spot treat, I use this all over my face and it never irritates. Whenever my skin is acting funky I put this on & Voila! :)

My main problem is clogged pores and everything I've found targets acne or blackheads and everything I have tried has made my skin worse. I purchased this as well as the BHA 2% liquid. These products said they help unclog pores and they do! I use the BHA9 for more stubborn spots and it works great! Also, I ordered a sample of the BHA9 and they sent me the wrong sample, I called customer service and they were amazing! They immediately corrected the mishap and shipped me my product right away!

I bought this product to get rid of some keratosis pilaris on my forehead. It has significantly reduced their size, but they haven't disappeared completely. However, a weird skin growth stared growing on my shoulder. It looked like a cross between a mole and a wart and it really bugged me. I started putting Resist BHA 9 on it and it started reducing in size and then it completely went away. I recently had another one on my side and used it again and that one completely went away! So happy!

I can not say enough good things about this product! I have been looking for a good BHA serum for a very long time and I have finally found one! I love using this every night on my problem areas, and I can see and feel a difference. It address my concerns without over drying, which is incredible! I will definitely try more from PC. Also, as a skin therapist, I really appreciate how they set up the website!

This is really really good for spot treating cystic acne, and although it won't be gone the next day (no cystic acne ever truly can leave in one day) it is significantly shrunk and less red. It doesn't work at all for me on black heads, but that's okay because the benzoyl peroxide treatments from Paula's choice are good for that on me. This is really sticky so I only use it at night, and the pump is a little funky but I like that it's a small sleek bottle. I might repurchase this.

This product is wonderful for healing acne! I get occasional painful red pimples in my chin area and as soon as I see one forming, I dab on some BHA9 and I always see results the next morning. My blemishes used to last about 2 weeks (especially the cystic pimples), but now that's down to about 3-4 days!! I can't go without this stuff now. My only criticism is that it doesn't do much to help with my blackheads at all.

I had extremely clogged pores on my nose and a few on my forehead, but the real issue were the ones on my nose. At first I had tried the 2% BHA liquid but did not notice a huge improvement, but remembered what was said in a Paula's Choice video about how if you struggled with clogged pores for a long time you made need more than just the everyday BHA treatment to begin with. So I tried the Resist BHA 9 and this did the trick! Now I just need the 2% BHA for maintenance. Love this!!!!

Being an over 50 gal, I've developed severely clogged pores my chin, nose and forehead over the past 8 years. I have tried numerous over the counter products as well as laser and derma pen treatments. After only 3 days and no pain, my pore size is greatly diminished and this product has not dried out my skin. I'm seriously blown away and don't mind the silky feel of the product, just massage it in and no oily feel afterwards. Thank you Paula !

I've had issues with cystic acne off and on since my 20's and this is the first product that has both faded the red spots, shrunk the bumps, and even got rid of the fine lines I was seeing around my nose and mouth. I received a sample from Birchbox and ended up buying the full size product. I am amazed at how well this works, when nothing else has. It may not work for everyone, but on my fair, acne-prone, oily mid-40's skin it's worked wonders.

I have been a loyal PC user but this product just does not work for me. I have Rosacea and also breakout along my chin and side of nose. I have used this and it did not help the redness and the blocked white head and black head.Also the dispenser is hard to use, you pump out a lot of product by squeezing from the top or part of it is leak back into the edge. Hard to manage if you just want a little less if you only have a small spot.

Customer Service Response: Hello, and thank you for sharing your experience with us - we're sorry to hear this didn't work as expected for you! Please contact a member of our Customer Care team, who can assist you with a possible exchange or refund.

Wow. I'm overwhelmed a bit. Im ordering some samples to try. Im dry& wrinkled with large pores & breakouts, acne scars & melasma. Im ordering some of the resist line. But I'm looking at multiple bha, salicylic acid, dark spot removers... & I dont know which one to order. I dont need multiple products that do the same thing. Can you help direct me? Thanks

I swear by bha 9. Since you are dry too I would use the resist clear skin hydrator (sp?). I also like the resist toner for dry skin which is kind of milky...it has never broken me out. Really, you can't go wrong with any PC products!

Answered on 7/23/2015 by Denise from North Carolina

Resist BHA 9 Treatment - 0.3 oz

Q:

I like us using 2% BHA exfoliant twice a day, but I notice that my daytime moisturizer with sunscreen seems to burn when I use the exfoliant under it. I was wondering if the BHA 9 used nightly and no exfoliant during the day might provide the same results as using the 2% twice a day. How does the "time release" on the BHA 9 work?

I would try it and see what happens. I use the 2% in the morning all over my face and the BHA 9 at night only on spots. You might try that. Or try a different sunscreen/moisturizer to see if there are ingredients there that are clashing.

What makes this product unique?
Resist BHA 9 is a first-of-its-kind spot treatment specially formulated to address your most stubborn skin imperfections. The technology behind BHA 9 is indeed unique, allowing for a controlled, sustained release of salicylic acid without diminishing any of its effectiveness. In fact, you will have enhanced results without dryness or irritation! BHA 9 for Stubborn Imperfections has a pH range of 3.2-3.8.

BHA 9 can do all of the following:

Unclog pores with the first use

Diminish white bumps

Minimize enlarged pores

Refine and smooth skin's texture

Minimize sebaceous hyperplasia

Smooth and soften dry, rough patches

Help balance oily skin

Fade red marks from breakouts

Reduce breakouts

Who is this product for?
Resist BHA 9 is designed for anyone who has struggled with stubborn skin imperfections who wants enhanced results over and above the treatments they've been using.

NOTE: Those allergic to aspirin (acetylsalicylate) should not use products containing salicylic acid (beta hydroxy acid).

DIRECTIONS: At night, apply as a leave-on spot treatment for stubborn imperfections. Dispense a very small amount of Resist BHA 9 onto a clean fingertip, and massage a thin layer over affected areas. Suitable for use around the eyes, but avoid contact with eyelids and do not apply along the lower lashline. For best results, use after cleansing and toning, but it can also be used as the last step in your skincare routine. Experiment to see which method works best for your skin concerns. May be applied on its own or over a Paula's Choice Skin Perfecting exfoliant. May be applied over larger areas if needed. Reduce frequency of usage if irritation or flaking occurs.

BHA 9 contains 9% salicylic acid in a unique formula, time-released to prevent irritation without sacrificing the result of its 9% strength. This allows even those with sensitive skin (perhaps even those who cannot tolerate our 2% BHA formulas) to reap the incredible results possible with BHA 9.

A thin layer of BHA 9 may be applied all over your face if needed, but you would want to use it first over smaller areas where stubborn imperfections (for example, blackheads that have not responded to a BHA exfoliant with 2% salicylic acid) are an issue to see how your skin responds.

We recommend applying BHA 9 once a day preferably in the evening, after cleansing and toning. Many will find that their imperfections respond favorably with less frequent usage, such as 2-3 times per week. For best results, experiment to determine the frequency of application that works best for you.

Yes. Apply the BHA 9 to affected areas first and follow with the skin lightening product where needed. Finish with your Paula's Choice serum and moisturizer. During the day, follow with a product rated SPF 25 or greater.

Yes, but for use with prescription retinoids, check with your doctor first. If you decide to try the BHA 9 use it as part of your evening skincare routine. Apply a thin layer of BHA 9 first, as either a spot treatment or all over your face and then follow with your retinol or prescription retinoid product, and finish with serum and/or moisturizer. Pay close attention to how your skin responds.

Yes, though for some skin types applying two exfoliants at the same time increases the risk of irritation and that is never the goal. It is also fine to apply any of our BHA or AHA products to areas of your face where you are not applying the BHA 9 exfoliant, or you can alternate by applying your regular exfoliant in the morning and BHA 9 at night. BHA 9 was designed to be a spot treatment though lots of people are having great success using it all over their face and chest.

Yes. BHA 9 is excellent for treating stubborn imperfections on the body, too, especially white bumps, breakouts, and stubborn blackheads or patches of persistent keratosis pilaris. It is slippery so you would want to be careful what you wore to go to bed.

Regular use of BHA 9 will help fade pink, red, or brown marks (known as post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation) from acne breakouts, but will not affect deep or pitted scars such as those that can occur from cystic acne.

Yes, but to start, apply this treatment to stubborn imperfections only, once daily or a few times per week, morning or evening. If applying over patches of eczema, pay close attention to how your skin responds. If signs of flaking or dryness occur, do not continue applying BHA 9 to these areas or reduce frequency of application. Follow with an emollient moisturizer.

Yes, but to start, apply this treatment to stubborn imperfections only, once daily or a few times per week, in the evening. Pay close attention to how your skin responds. If signs of flaking or dryness occur, do not continue to apply BHA 9 to these areas or reduce frequency of application.

Not necessarily better, but it is stronger and designed to be a targeted treatment. BHA 9 is designed for stubborn imperfections (blackheads, white bumps, red marks from acne, sebaceous hyperplasia) that have not responded well (or at all) to one of our Skin Perfecting BHA exfoliants with 2% salicylic acid. BHA 9 is a potent treatment that for most will work best when applied to problem areas. For routine, daily exfoliation, continue to use one of our other BHA exfoliants on other parts of your face, neck, and chest.

Paula feels strongly that the benefits of BHA 9 are great enough to extend it beyond keeping acne breakouts under control. It is an excellent spot treatment for many types of skin issues such as sebaceous hyperplasia which primarily affects women over 40 who have oily skin and that wouldn't fall under the category of acne. Without question, BHA 9 can benefit acne-prone skin and can be used as part of a Clear routine if a stronger exfoliant to treat areas with stubborn imperfections, including Resistant blackheads and white bumps (milia) is needed.

The salicylic acid in BHA9 fades discoloration by increasing skin cell turnover rate, while key ingredients in Resist Pure Radiance Skin Brightening Treatment and our hydroquinone-based skin lighteners work to interrupt the pathways in skin that melanin (skin pigment) needs to form the discolorations. Used together on dark spots, these products will have a complementary, synergistic effect. And don't forget the sunscreen, a must when figting brown spots and uneven skin tone.

First, we urge you to follow the post-procedure instructions your doctor or nurse provided. If nothing was mentioned about when to resume use of a BHA exfoliant, please contact the doctor's office where you had the procedure done. Otherwise, our general advice is to begin using your BHA again as soon as possible. Or, if your skin seems extra-sensitive, you may want to wait and apply the BHA exfoliant a few days post-procedure. Salicylic acid is an excellent anti-inflammatory ingredient that can enhance skin's natural healing process as it works to reduce post-procedure redness.

This product is packaged in an airless pump dispenser which utilizes a vacuum system to dispense and keep the contents fresh. Airless packaging helps to keep air and contaminates out of the product, which enhances the formula's stability and effectiveness.

When using your product for the first time, you may need to “prime” the dispenser. To prime, simply pump the dispenser slowly about 10-15 times. If the dispenser stops working at any time, simply repeat the "priming" step. Do not attempt to dismantle the package.

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